LawFuel’s 2022 Lawyer of the Year is the battling ‘loophole lawyer’ who fought to get Charlotte Bellis into the country under the MIQ lottery system.
Diversity Lab LLC, a for-profit diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) consultancy, has permanently ceased operations following a Federal Trade Commission investigation. The company informed the FTC that it filed paperwork to dissolve itself as a business entity with the California Secretary of State on Friday. Earlier this year, the FTC opened a formal inquiry into
Legal AI – ‘Architect’ of Law Firm DEI Programs Dissolves Read More »
Article source: Tulane University, School of Social Work Image Source Aging in prison brings layered challenges that demand focused and informed advocacy. Older adults behind bars often experience accelerated aging, chronic illness, mobility limitations, and cognitive decline within environments that were never designed for long-term elder care. Social workers stand at a critical point of
Caring Beyond Confinement: How Social Workers Can Advocate for Aging Prison Populations Read More »
Legal profession leaders from almost every region in NSW are gathering in Orange over the next two days to discuss improvements needed to strengthen access to justice in the state. President of the Law Society of NSW Ronan MacSweeney says the gathering, taking place in the advent of next Tuesday’s state 2026-27 Budget, provides a
NSW law leaders gather for ‘regional justice summit Read More »
Australian organisations are facing a critical “digital blind spot” that leaves them highly vulnerable to catastrophic operational outages, regulatory penalties, and reputational damage. A newly released white paper by Australian law firm Clayton Utz, titled Closing the digital blind spot: managing third-party risk, warns that a dangerous gap has emerged between how risk is managed on paper
Clayton Utz Warns Australian Organisations of ‘Digital Blind Spot’ That Opens High Risk Read More »
A New Zealand offshore trust firm is capitalising on litigation-fearful US doctors who are moving funds into protective structures. Southpac Group says new client numbers rose more than 290% between 2022 and 2025, with the US now accounting for around 85% of its client base. The growth follows new US research showing almost 60% of
Rising Litigation Concerns for US Doctors Sees New Zealand Trust Group Expand Read More »
Six Auckland law firms have been formally warned by the Department of Internal Affairs (DIA) after failing to complete mandatory independent anti-money laundering audits, in what regulators describe as the first coordinated enforcement action of its kind. The public warnings form part of a wider sweep involving ten reporting entities, including a real estate agency,
AML Warning Shot Sees Six Auckland Law Firms Caught in DIA Compliance Crackdown Read More »
Tom Borman, LawFuel contributing editor The confirmation of Justin Smith to the United States Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit is a major moment in Donald Trump’s second‑term judicial strategy. The Senate voted along party lines to hand Smith a lifetime seat on a key federal appeals court that covers seven states. To much
The Rise of Justin Smith – How a Missouri Boutique Cornered the Federal Judiciary Read More »
The £240k Problem: Why NZ Firms Are Losing Lawyers To London New Zealand’s legal job market is heating up, but for many large and boutique firms the real story is not just demand – it is the steady bleed of 3–4 year PQE lawyers to London, where US‑based firms in particular are offering money local
London’s Pay Lure Is Draining NZ’s Mid‑Level Talent Read More »
Five Men Arrested and Charged in Plot to Attack and Kill Government Officials and Others Attending the Ultimate Fighting Championship at White HouseWASHINGTON — The Justice Department announced today charges against five men for an alleged plot to carry out an attack to kill government officials and others attending the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) Freedom
FBI Foil White House Terror Plot at Ultimate Fighting Championship Read More »
New Zealand’s premium legal market is dominated by four names everyone knows. But beneath that familiar canopy sits an elite tier of specialist boutiques that punch absurdly above their weight — firms that regularly win work the large players refer out, whether for conflicts, specialist depth, or simply because the client wants a partner who’ll actually run the matter.
Our inaugural New Zealand ranking draws on Chambers, Legal 500, Benchmark Litigation, and five years of NZ Law Awards data to identify the boutiques that genuinely compete at the top table.
The findings? One Auckland litigation firm has won Specialist Firm of the Year four times in five years — a dominance unmatched anywhere in the market. Another is described by peers as providing services “at or better than the litigation departments of the largest firms.” And at the independent bar, a single chambers holds more King’s Counsel appointments than any other set in the country.
We’ve also identified the corporate boutique operating at “the top end” of the M&A market with just six lawyers — and the insurance specialist that’s scaled to 90 lawyers without taking a single non-insurance instruction.
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